It is widely known in the professional percussion field that in order to attain technical efficiency on the drums, hand technique is crucial. By means of match grip technique, and when held correctly in the fingers, a drumstick or other striking device is placed in the joint between the distal and middle phalanges of the forefinger and the distal phalange of the thumb. The remaining fingers rest gently around the stick. When this is done, a space is created between the proximal phalanges of the thumb and the forefinger. This space is important because, if maintained, it will permit the stick to bound freely on the pivot or fulcrum point.
A drumstick is normally cylindrical in shape and can vary greatly in length and thickness. However, it often will have a butt end, a striking end and a middle section, termed the shaft. The fulcrum is located approximately one-third down the shaft from the butt end.
There is a need to address a common problem among drummers of allowing the drumstick to slip down to the middle or proximal phalange of the forefinger, thus closing the aforementioned space, forcing the drummer to grasp the drumstick with all his or her fingers. This slipping in the fingers usually occurs when playing at loud volumes, playing for long periods of time or, in some cases, lack of having been properly trained. Many drummers think they have full control of the drumstick in the hand when grasping with all the fingers. However, the stick tends to repeatedly rub between the forefinger and thumb, causing blisters. Also, when one grasps the drumsticks with all the fingers, unneeded tension in the hands and arms tends to occur, often resulting in muscle spasms, tendonitis and in most severe cases, carpal tunnel syndrome.
Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve that innervates the thumb, forefinger, middle finger and ring finger becomes pressed upon due to swollen or inflamed tissue, causing pain. A narrow tunnel formed by the bones and other tissues of your wrist, called the carpal tunnel, normally protects the medium nerve. Unnatural wrist positions or high repetitive wrist and finger movements generally cause carpal tunnel syndrome.
Even with wide awareness of problems that occur while performing with poor drumstick gripping technique, the industry has yet to produce a device that can help the drummer learn how to hold the stick correctly, thus deterring the physical problems aforementioned.
Prior solutions of which I am aware focus on redesigning the shape of the drumstick to make the stick less likely to slip in the fingers. In U.S. Pat. Application No.2002/0002895A1 to Zbrzezny et al, the shape of the drumstick is modified to have a more hexagonal or octagonal than cylindrical shape. This form of stick is said to fit better in the fingers, thus deterring the drumstick from slipping. The described approach is not universally applicable to various shapes and sizes of drumstick.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,887 to Buchanan describes a gripping device of a saddle-shaped formation that is pivotally connected to the drumstick by a metal pivot pin. This approach, however, does allow the drummer to feel how the stick pivots on the correct fulcrum point. And it does not allow the drummer to have direct contact with the drumstick, thus preventing the drummer from identifying the correct pinch pressure needed.
Some implements, such as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,744,737, apply weights to strengthen the muscles in the hand used when drumming, but do not address proper drumstick gripping technique.